Machine foe



A. 8:; GUM. FOSTER.

MACHINE FOR PRESSING AND MOLDING HOLLOW BRICK.

Patented July 22. 1856.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. AMBROSE FOSTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ANDGEOItGE M. FOSTER, OF FAIRHAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

MACHINE FOR MOLDING AND PRESSING- BUILDING-BLOCKS FROM CLAY, 8w.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,374, dated July 22, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat we, AMBROSE FOSTER, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, and G. M. FOSTER, of Fairhaven, in the county of New Haven andState of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement inMachinery for Molding and Pressing Building Material; and we do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part ofthis specification, in which Figure 1, is a vertical section of ourimprovement, (as), (m), Fig. 2, showing the plane of section. Fig. 2, isan end view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twofigures.

Our invention consists in the employment or use of a sliding hopper,plunger, and vibrating press box, arranged and operated, as will behereinafter fully shown and described.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct ourinvention, we will proceed to describe it.

A, A, represent two uprights which are attached to a suitable base B,and O, represents the driving shaft of the machine, said shaft workingin suitable bearings at the upper parts of the uprights A, A. On one endof the shaft O, there is placed a driving pulley D, and a pinion E, isplaced on the opposite end of said shaft. The pinion E, gears into atoothed Wheel F, which is placed on one end of a shaft G, which works inbearings at the lower parts of the uprights A, A. On the shaft Gr, thereis placed a cam H, which works between the two uprights A, A. The formof this cam is distinctly shown in Fig. 1, a portion (a), of the cam isa segment of a circle, and a portion (6), is a segment of a smallercircle, and a portion 0 is a segment of a still smaller circle. One side(d), of the larger segment (a), is placed tangentially with the segment(6), while the opposite, (e), is of curved form, see Fig. 1.

I, represents a plunger, which. is fitted and works in a press box J.This press box is fitted between the upper parts of the uprights A, A,and rests upon screw heads The press box has vertical grooves orrecesses made in its ends, in which the inner sides of the uprights fit,and a certain degree of vertical play or vibration is allowed the pressbox, as will be hereafter shown. The plunger I, is attached to the upperends of two sliding bars (g), which are fitted in boxes (h), at theinner sides of the uprights A, A, and a friction roller J is attached tothe lower ends of the sliding bars, said roller bearing upon the cam H.

The interior of the press box in which the plunger works is ofrectangular form, and has a core K, fitted vertically within it, thecore passing through the center of the plunger, its upper end beingflush with the upper surface of the press box, as shown in Fig, 1. Theupper end of the press box J, has a horizontal plate L, attached to it,on which plate a sliding hopper M, works, said hopper having guides (i),attached to it, one at each side, which guides work in recesses orgrooves in the upper endsof the uprights A, A.

On the inner side of the toothed wheel F, there is a cam formed of twoirregular shaped ledges (j), (j), between which a pin (70), works, saidpin being attached to an upright lever N, the lower end of which isattached to a shaft O. The upper end of the lever N, is attached by apitman P, to

the hopper M. On the inner side of the wheel F, there is also a segmentledge (Z) which acts against the lower end of a lever Q. This lever Q,works on a fulcrum at (m), and is of bent or right angular form,

the upper horizontal portion of the lever being attached to the pressbox J, by having the end of the lever fit in an eye (a m), on the box.

To the under surface of the plunger I, there is attached a curved orbent arm R, which has a hook or lip (n) upon it, near its lower end, seefig. 1. The lever end of the arm R, bears against the upper end of acurved arm S, attached to the base B, and the segment portion (a), ofthe cam H, is slot-ted, so that the arm may pass into it, as the camrotates, the segment portion (a) has also a recess (0'), out in it, intowhich the hook or lip (11.), falls, as said recess passes aroundopposite to the lip or hook.

T, is a set screw, which passes vertically through the lower end of thepress box J, this set screw controls or governs the length of stroke ofthe plunger I.

The operation is as follows. The cam H operates the plunger I, the camformed of the ledges (7'), (j), on the wheel F, operate the slidinghopper M, and the ledge (Z) operates the press box J. The material isplaced within the hopper M, when in the position shown in blue, anddesignated by Fig. 1, see Fig. 1, and as the driving shaft C, is

rotated, the hopper M, is moved forward by atthe lower end of the pressbox, and the friction roller J being upon the small seg ment (0), of thecam H.' The hopper then moves back in the position shown in red, andindicated by the Fig. 3, and a cross plate V, at the front side of thehopper is directly over the press box. The plunger I, is now forcedupward by the segment-portion 6, of the cam H, and the material iscompressed within the press box. Just previous however to the rising ofthe plunger I, the ledge (Z), will strike against the lower end of thelever Q, and the press box J, and plate L, will be forced upward firmlyagainst the cross plate V, and retained in that position, until thematerial within the press box is compressed, the press box then fallingdown to its original position. The hopper M, now moves back to itsoriginal position, as shown in blue, and designated by the Fig. 1, andthe segment portion (a), of the cam H, forces the plunger up to the topof the press box, and the molded and compressed material is forced fromthe press box, and

removed from off the plate L, when the hopper M, is again moved forwardover the press box.

The above machine has been practically tested, and operates smoothly andwell. There are no parts liable to get out of repair, nor become injuredor worn in case of wear, as the working parts are all protected. The armR, is employed to draw down the plunger, in case it sticks within thepress box. This is effected in consequence of the hook or lip (92.),catching into the recess (0), in the segment (a), of the cam H.

lVe do not claim a sliding hopper nor do we claim a core placed within apress box for the purpose of molding hollow brick, for these deviceshave been previously used; but

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The sliding hopper, M, plunger, I, and vibrating press box, J, whenthe above parts are moved or operated relatively with each other, asshown, for the purpose specified.

2. o claim operating the hopper, M, press box, J, and plunger, I, bymeans of the cam, H, on the shaft, G, the ledges, (j), (j), and (Z), onthe wheel, F, and levers, N, Q, the above parts being constructed andarranged substantially as shown and described.

AMBROSE FOSTER. GEORGE M. FOSTER. Witnesses:

F. G. LUOKEY, G. A. WOOD.

